Cyclone ‘Dana’: Devotees Discouraged From Visiting Jagannath Temple, Sun Temple & Beaches In Odisha

Puri: With Cyclone ‘Dana’ barrelling towards Odisha coast, the Puri administration on Thursday urged tourists against venturing into the sea.

Popular tourists sites like Sun Temple at Konark as well as the beaches in Puri, Konark and Jagatsinghpur districts will remain out of bounds for tourists as Dana is expected to make landfall close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamra along Odisha coast during midnight and Friday morning. The approaching cyclonic storm is likely to batter seven coastal districts with extremely heavy rain and wind speed of 100-120 kmph. Puri district is likely to experience wind at the maximum speed of 80 kmph.

The authorities have also advised devotees against visiting Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and expedited preparations to minimise the impact of the calamity on the 12th-century shrine. Elderly women, who are staying put in the pilgrim town for Kartika Brata, have been requested to stay away from the shrine on Thursday and Friday. “In view of the safety of elderly devotees who have come from across the state to perform Kartik Brata, the district administration has cancelled their trip to Jagannath Temple from their respective accommodations,” Puri Collector Siddhant Shankar Swain said.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in a statement said that all measures were being taken to protect the shrine while keeping the daily rituals intact. Measures have been taken to ensure that loose materials like GI sheets, scaffolding tubes and others are not affected in the gale.

The administration has also ensured that the regular devotees from outside Puri are housed in a safe place.

Pump and generator sets have been kept ready with other equipment in case of a power outage, an official release said.